AN ANALYSIS OF WILLIAM BLAKES SONGS - 2960 Words

AN ANALYSIS OF WILLIAM BLAKE’S SONGS OF INNOCENCE AND OF EXPERIENCE AS A RESPONSE TO THE COLLAPSE OF VALUES TIMOTHY VINESâˆâ€" Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience are a much studied part of the English canon, and for good reason. Blake’s work depicts a quandary that continues to haunt humanity today: the struggle of high-order humanity against the ‘real’ rationality and morals of institutionalised society. This essay seeks to explore both Blake’s literary reaction to the Enlightenment and the response of early readers to his work. Showing more than ‘the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul’,1 Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience reveals a symbolic development which existed in opposition to conventional concepts of modernity and†¦show more content†¦Experience was born out of the political troubles – both in England and abroad – which, to Blake, exemplified the struggle of spirit against oppression. A Malcolmson (ed.), William Blake: an introduction, Constable Young Books Ltd, London, 1967. His enemies and critics equated Blake ‘with religious fanatics like Joanna Southcote and lunatics like Richard Brothers.’ D Dorfman, Blake in the nineteenth century: His reputation as a poet from Gilchrist to Yeats, Yale University Press, New Haven, 1969, p. 16. 5 Blake’s method of engraving was as ingenious and novel as his style of writing. According to Blake, his brother Robert, who died in early 1787, visited him in a dream and told him the correct method to engrave his poems. See Malcolmson. 6 See Blake’s colour plates in Keynes’ reproduction. 7 To avoid repetition the individual volumes of Songs of Innocence and of Experience will be cited as Innocence and Experience respectively. 8 G Keynes, in Blake, p. xiv. 3 4 An Analysis of William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience – Timothy Vines 117 Nonetheless it would be inappropriate to read the two collections in isolation. Blake published both Songs in one volume and the thematic development and harmony between the volumes and individual poems supports an interpretation which treats both Songs as contrasting elements of a single discourse. SimilaritiesShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Songs Of Innocence By William Blake1787 Words   |  8 PagesWilliam Blake, an unconventional writer and artist in Romantic England, was known best for his unique printing method and claim to supernatural visions. In 1789, Blake published the â€Å"Songs of Innocence,† a collection of poems attributed with an innocent, romantic viewpoint, as the title indicates. One of the poems, â€Å"The Divine Image,† was used to identify the nature of God in man. â€Å"The Divine Image† speaker identifies the Mercy, Love, Peace, and Pity found in humans to be truly divine and of GodRead MoreSongs Of Innocence And Of Experience By William Blake Analysis868 Words   |  4 PagesSongs of Innocence and of Experience i s the foundation of the work of one of the greatest. English poets and artists. The two sets of poems reveal what William Blake calls â€Å"the two contrary states of the human soul.† In both series, he offers clues to deeper meanings and suggests ways out of the apparent trap of selfhood, so that each reading provides greater insight and understanding, not only to the poems but also to human life. 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Formed as an uprising against neoclassicism, romanticism was more abstract, focusing on feelings and imaginations, instead